A 10-year-old Milwaukee boy intentionally pointed a gun at his mother, then shot and killed her because she didn’t buy him a virtual reality headset, prosecutors said.
The boy initially told police the Nov. 21 shooting was an accident, according to criminal charges obtained by the Journal Sentinel. But then he said that he intentionally aimed at his mother before shooting her. The boy was charged as an adult last week with first degree reckless homicide.
Wisconsin law requires children as young as 10 to be charged as adults with certain felonies, though the child’s attorneys may try to move the case to juvenile court. The boy, who family members say has mental health issues, is in a juvenile detention center.
“This is an absolute family tragedy,” said Angela Cunningham, one of the boy’s attorneys. “I don’t think anyone would deny or disagree with that… The adult system is absolutely ill-equipped to address the needs of a 10-year-old.”
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The shooting occurred shortly before 7 a.m. on November 21. According to the complaint, the boy initially told officers that he took the gun from his mother’s bedroom and went to the basement where she was doing laundry. He said he was spinning the gun around her finger when she fired herself. The boy was allowed to stay with the family, and an initial police statement says the shooting was caused by a boy “playing” with a gun.
A day later, concerned relatives called the police.
A Milwaukee boy intentionally killed his mother after she refused to buy him a VR headset.
The boy’s aunt said that when she picked up the boy, he recovered a set of house keys that contained a key to the gun safe. When her aunt asked about the shooting, the boy said he pointed the gun at her mother and she told him to leave it.
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The boy’s aunt and sister said he never cried or showed remorse. They also said he logged into his mother’s Amazon account and ordered an Oculus virtual reality headset the morning after her death. That same morning he physically assaulted his 7-year-old cousin.
Family members said the boy has a history of disruptive behavior. When he was 4 years old, he swung the family puppy by its tail, the complaint says. Six months ago, the family told police, the boy filled a balloon with a flammable liquid and set it on fire, causing an explosion that burned the furniture and carpet. Relatives recalled that when asked about it, the boy said that he hears five imaginary people speaking to him.
After learning these new details, Milwaukee police re-interviewed the boy. This time, he told detectives that he pointed the gun at his mother with both hands while she was in the firing position. She said she tried to shoot a wall of hers to “scare” her when she walked in front of him and he shot her, the complaint says.
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The boy told police he took the gun out of the safe that morning because his mother woke him up early, at 6 a.m. instead of 6:30 a.m., and because she wouldn’t let him buy something on Amazon.
